The 10 Best Places in the World

Alright, it's late at night and I'm bored and can't sleep, so why not blow an hour posting stuff on the blog?

I spent some time this weekend thinking over what my favorite places in the world are and I came up with this list of ten spots I've visited during the last few years. Before I start with the commentary I should mention that this list is at least a little bit biased and subjective, possibly inaccurate due to my half-conscious state at 1:00 in the morning, and definitely subject to change at any time.


10: Semuc Champey, Guatemala

Crystal clear pools of water streaming down a natural limestone bridge at the base of a giant jungle-covered canyon make Semuc Champey one of the greatest natural wonders I've ever visited. It doesn't hurt that hardly anybody knows about this place either. On the day I visited there were about ten other people there.



9: Delphi, Greece

If it's good enough for the Greeks then it's good enough for me. In ancient times the inhabitants of Greece believed that Delphi was the most beautiful place in the world and built a small civilization on the spot complete with an in-house oracle. Visiting during the off-season was perfect timing as the crowds were thin and the weather was perfectly cool. A cafe down the road serves mouth-watering Greek salad with a slab of feta cheese on top to go with a plate of tasty souvlaki.



8: Snowbird, Utah

What other ski resort can boast 400" of the world's best snow annually, the greatest terrain in the Rockies, and the longest legitimate ski season in North America? As far as I'm concerned there's no better way to spend a Saturday than by cruising up to Snowbird with the music blasting in my Honda Accord, getting a few world-class runs in, and picking up a hot chocholate at 7-11 on my way back home.



7: Venice, Italy

Show up at 5:30 in the morning and you'll have the entire city to yourself. Wandering through the maze of Venetian alleyways just before sunrise was possibly my favorite moment of my month-long trip through Europe in 2005. The city isn't quite so romantic though once the cruise ships pull up at around 9:00.



6: Taj Mahal, India

This is one that really lives up to the hype. Watching the sun come up over the Taj Mahal was one of the most jaw-dropping experiences I've had while traveling. The symmetry and proportions of the building are so impressive that I spent hours taking pictures and walked in circles around the thing until my feet hurt.



4: Machu Picchu, Peru

While visiting this ancient Incan civilization in the heart of the Andes, just about everyone asks themselves, "How in the world did those guys get all this stuff up here!?" One thing was obvious to me when I saw Machu Piccu for the first time - the Incas picked that specific location for a reason. Like Delphi, this might be one of the most beautiful spots on earth.



4: Varanasi, India

People-watching doesn't get any better than in Varanasi. During the course of two hours I sat with holy men on the banks of the Ganges as they smoked the "holy herb", watched hoards of Indian women in colorful sarees wash their sins away in the river, and witnessed a Hindu cremation at sunset from start to finish.



3: Kruger National Park, South Africa

About three months ago I found myself on a dirt road thirty miles from the nearest civilization surrounded by a herd of seven potentially belligerant elephants. Where else could something like that happen but at Kruger; South Africa's premiere wild game park? During my two-day self-guided safari at Kruger I also spotted many herds of giraffes, more zebras, gazelles, warthogs, hyenas, and buffalo than I can count, and two very lazy rhinos.



2: Angkor Wat, Cambodia

One of my favorite days ever while traveling was my first day at Angkor Wat. Forty-eight hours into my first ever solo trip overseas I climbed through countless giant caverns of Cambodian ruins, watched saffron-clad Buddhist monks worship in the ancient temples, and came face-to-face with giant, intricate Khmer carvings. In the subject line of my e-mail home that night, I wrote, "Is this for real!!!???"



1: Bhutan

One of the most intriguing aspects of Bhutan, besides the fact that the culture is one of the best-preserved in the world, the King measures the country's success in terms of "Gross National Happiness" (GNH), and marijuana plants grow absolutely everywhere - yet are not used for smoking, is that so few people have been to the country to tell about it. My favorite quote of the trip came from Tenzin, my Bhutanese guide; "Tourism is really picking up this year... we expect to have over 20,000 visitors."